Commentary: China's "scientific development" works to counter economic downturn

China's relatively fast economic growth has caught the eye of the world at a time when most of the countries are experiencing the full wrath of a raging economic slowdown.

As some Western media questions why China works, the world's economic experts and scholars are also wondering the same thing: What tools China has to keep its economy resilient and why it is well-positioned to weather the financial crisis?

The answer lies in the nation's unique growth mode featuring a "scientific outlook on development."

Over the three decades of reform and opening-up, China has evolved its own growth mode that aims to achieve development through scientific approaches based upon China's national conditions and the international situation, analysts said.

The essence of such a growth mode is to seek a balance between development, stability, equity and clean environment, they said.

China has greatly enhanced its overall national strength and "turned out to be an economic giant" through three decades of development, said Prof. Arnold van Zyl, vice president of South Africa's Stellenbosch University.

An improved economic strength has given China greater room for maneuver in the face of the current global economic meltdown, he added.

Thanks to the growth mode with distinct Chinese characteristics, the country is unleashing great power in the global arena, benefiting countries around the world.

The fact that China has maintained an annual GDP growth of over9 percent over the last 20 years proves that the nation has found a way of sustainable development, the Colombian ambassador to China, Guillermo Ricardo Velez said.

Meanwhile, the country has also managed to create a friendly international environment for its swift development, he added,

While sparing no efforts in advancing economic growth, China has also attached great importance to the sustainability of its development and is striving to achieve harmony between man and nature.

China's endeavor to enhance environmental protection, energy-saving and gas emission-cut and build a resource-conserving society is of great significance to the world, said Klaus Toepfer, former chief of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore also said at the 2008 Poznanclimate summit that China has mobilized a national effort to introduce CO2 reduction initiatives, and has already begun the largest tree-planting program the world has ever seen.

China's rapid development is attributed to its stable social and political environment, whereas its national stability stems from the Chinese government's efforts to establish a harmonious society.

The international community has highly appreciated such efforts made by China. "We all thank China for that because if China is not stable, the rest of the world will see unrest," said Annette Nijs, executive director of Global Initiative of the China-Europe International Business School.

The Chinese government, Nijs said, is trying hard to keep what she called "five balances": the balance between urban and rural areas; between China's western and eastern regions; between man and nature; between economic growth and social stability; and between domestic development and going global strategies.

"These five balances are essential to China's long-term development," she said.

The United Nations has fully recognized China's efforts in poverty relief and improving people's livelihood. Under the UN Millennium Development Goals, China has achieved the goal in advance to cut poverty by half, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization hailed that China has made the biggest contribution to the world's poverty reduction drive.

In the face of the current global financial crisis, the world has witnessed the advantage of China's development model. China's outlook of scientific development has been affirmed and praised by the international community.

Velia Hernandez, professor from the Autonomous National University of Mexico, said in order to weather the unprecedented crisis, the world needs to learn from China's experience.

Source:Xinhua